If We Only Knew What We Were Getting Into: ¿Que? Tzaltenango

Quetzaltenango. Kee-tsal-tuh-nango. It's actually not that hard. If you're in the country for a few days - since it's semi-remote and extremely well-known, that's quite likely - you have been dealing in quetzals for a while. Not because it's the national bird. It's because it is the name of Guatemala's currency. So it's 'kee-tsal', like the currency. And then just add 'tenango'. Quetzaltenango. Just say it. Quelzaltenango. [Dora The Explorer Voice] Good job! [/Dora The Explorer Voice]

Now forget it. Because Quetzaltenango maybe long and poetic, it's not used that often. For obvious reasons. Ain't nobody got time to say Quetzaltenango. No, you're supposed to refer to it as Xela (as said in the previous entry, it's pronounced 'shee-la'). That itself is again an abbreviation of it's mayan name: Xelaju. Still following? Excellent.

Depending on the way you travel, the ride from Lago de Atitlan is actually not the most challenging. Generally you have the options: local or 'chicken' bus, local microbus, tourist shuttle or private shuttle. Although chickenbuses (old American schoolbuses, repainted) are said to be an 'experience', we ruled out this option pretty quickly. Not only are they full, uncomfortable and only semi-reliable, they also rarely go directly where you want to go. Since our time here is short, spending it unnecessarily long on uncomfortable buses was not the preferred option. However, the generally reliable tourist shuttles also proved to be an unexpected problem. They didn't run. We timed our departure on January 1st, which is a day of sleep, comfort food and Netflix. Apparently also here. That meant we took the private option. Luckily Matt of Matt Geo Tours, doesn't just do tours, but also transfers. So we found ourselves in the now familiar red truck, talking about volcanoes and making our way to Xela.

After the adorably sized Antigua and the small villages of Atitlan, Xela is something different. It's a city. Not compared to the capital though. Where Guatemala City boast a population of millions, Xela barely breaches the line of 200.000. It is large in terms of the space it occupies. This is mainly due to the fact that most cities in Guatemala doesn't do high rise, because of the earthquakes. Hence, cities tend to sprawl. Still, the center is nice and manageable. There's a central square where most of the city's activity is centred. This is also where you find some of the 'architectural discrepancies' that are built here during Xela's turbulent history.

Unlike Antigua the city was never a (modern Guatemalan) capital, but it did experience a similar cycle of prosperity, demise and resilience. After independence and exodus of the Spanish, an influx of Germans altered the demographic composition of Xela. Making money on the coffee boom, they built a number of distinct buildings, now scattered around town. Then faith struck. The magnificent Santa Maria volcano - a textbook triangular stratovolcano - woke up in 1902. It was an awakening that left its mark. An eruption and earthquake bursted the entrepreneurial coffee bubble. With it, the city lost part of expats and prosperity.

That period may have gone, but it's not forgotten. Especially Xela's central square is distinctly non-Guatemalan or even Spanish. There's more of the oppressive German architecture than anywhere else we've seen in Guatemala. A lot of the buildings are in a state of disrepair, but are stubbornly still standing. It sometimes even feels a bit post-apocalyptic. The city however, is anything but. Xela is very much alive these days. There is a hint of tourism and foreign influences, but overall it's more authentic than what we saw of Antigua and Lago de Atitlan.

Other than walking around town, one of the suggestions we got from our (initial) hostel was to check out Xela's municipal graveyard. It sounds a bit morbid, right? Actually I wasn't too sure what would be so special about it. That is until we arrived. So people here don't actually bury their dead underground, but above. So instead of gravestones, you either get 'buried' in a sort of cabinet style, with graves stacked on top and next to each other. The alternative, if you or your family did well in this world, is a sort of thomb. These varied from tasteful to semi-ridiculous. I mean, a pyramid including sfinxes? In Guatemala? Probably even Egyptians wouldn't dream of doing something like that. Anyway, it did make for an interesting walk, that's for sure.

Another interesting walk, but of a slightly different nature, was the one up to Santa Maria. That's right. The vulcano that destroyed Xela's fortune in the early 1900s. That Santa Maria. It is no longer active, though. It is however a bitch to climb. Starting at 2500 meters, at the top you find yourself close to 3800. The challenge of Santa Maria is not necessarily the altitude though. Relatively closeby Volcan Tajumulco is actually 400 meters taller. No, it's the steepness and quality of the path which make Santa Maria more difficult than her counterpart to the north. The path goes up, up or up. There's almost no point where it levels. And most of way up consists of slippery rocks, which get even more slippery once the soil unfreezes and the path becomes muddy too. Ah yes, did I mention we started at 05.00 in the pitch black? Actually that part I can totally recommend. You see so many stars, it's impressive.

So why Santa Maria? First of all, it's close. It's just a twenty minute drive from downtown Xela to the foot of the volcano. Second, if you make it to the top and you're lucky, the view is fantastic. If you're unlucky and it's clouded, the view is still great. You're above the clouds and see the range of volcanoes of Guatemala. It's like six or seven on a straight line where the tectonic plates meet. If it's not cloudy you can add another one to the list. An active one. And you're looking down on it. Volcano Santiaguito was originally part of Santa Maria, but has continuously grown and is now regarded as a separate one. Like Fuego it is very active, but there's no massive lava explosions. Mainly it's rumbling and non-lethal gas explosions. Still getting too close to Santiaguito is dangerous. And seeing it from up high (it's only 2400 meters at the moment) you have a better view of the young volcano and its doings. For Xela and surroundings, the emerge of Santiaguito is actually a good thing. It diminishes the likelihood of another Santa Maria eruption like the one of 1902, making it also safe to climb.

Safe, if you tread carefully. Especially on the way down, the path is extremely tricky. It's still the same slippery rocks, but now covered in slippery mud. Some parts are better done fast than slow, if you want to avoid sliding down that is. For our guide Carlos, going down fast was not a problem. We remained careful. Broken bones were not part of the itinerary.

No, next up is Lanquin. The goal there is not Lanquin itself, but the clear, clean waters of Semuc Champey!

Xela's main square, designed by an Italian architect, adding another European nationality to the city's quaint historic mix.

Some kind of New Year's celebration? In the back you see the quite depressing church, in gray stone rather than the usual painted ones.

Dance! Dance! Dance!

Can't remember what building this was. But it's pretty during the sunset.

Pasaje Enriquez, located at the Parque Centro America. It now houses a few cafes, and Adrenalina Travel Agency. Odd thing is that half of it is restored. Exactly down the middle. One side has gotten new paint, the other side is in bad shape.